Posted on 01/22/2004 7:07:09 AM PST by Wolfstar
ED. NOTE: On Tuesday evening, January 20, 2004, the President of the United States gave one of the most conservative State of the Union addresses in at least a generation. For a SOTU speech, it had a remarkably short spending wish list. Instead, it had passages such as those excerpted below none of which would have been spoken by a Democrat or liberal (i.e., Leftist), or even a "RINO." Check it out:
[BEGIN EXCERPTS: Bold/underscore emphasis by Wolfstar]
Our greatest responsibility is the active defense of the American people. Twenty-eight months have passed since September 11th, 2001 over two years without an attack on American soil. And it is tempting to believe that the danger is behind us. That hope is understandable, comforting and false.
[SNIP]
The once all-powerful ruler of Iraq was found in a hole, and now sits in a prison cell. Of the top 55 officials of the former regime, we have captured or killed 45. Our forces are on the offensive, leading over 1,600 patrols a day and conducting an average of 180 raids a week. We are dealing with these thugs in Iraq, just as surely as we dealt with Saddam Hussein's evil regime.
Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better. Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons.
[SNIP]
Nine months of intense negotiations involving the United States and Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplomacy with Iraq did not. And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible, and no one can now doubt the word of America.
Many of our troops are listening tonight. And I want you and your families to know: America is proud of you. And my administration, and this Congress, will give you the resources you need to fight and win the war on terror.
I know that some people question if America is really in a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime, a problem to be solved mainly with law enforcement and indictments. After the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993, some of the guilty were indicted and tried and convicted, and sent to prison. But the matter was not settled. The terrorists were still training and plotting in other nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States, and war is what they got.
[SNIP]
Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands (applause) Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. As we debate at home, we must never ignore the vital contributions of our international partners, or dismiss their sacrifices.
From the beginning, America has sought international support for our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and we have gained much support. There is a difference, however, between leading a coalition of many nations, and submitting to the objections of a few. America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country.
We also hear doubts that democracy is a realistic goal for the greater Middle East, where freedom is rare. Yet it is mistaken, and condescending, to assume that whole cultures and great religions are incompatible with liberty and self-government. I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom. And even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again.
[SNIP]
In the last three years, adversity has also revealed the fundamental strengths of the American economy. We have come through recession, and terrorist attack, and corporate scandals, and the uncertainties of war. And because you acted to stimulate our economy with tax relief, this economy is strong, and growing stronger.
You have doubled the child tax credit from $500 to $1,000, reduced the marriage penalty, begun to phase out the death tax, reduced taxes on capital gains and stock dividends, cut taxes on small businesses, and you have lowered taxes for every American who pays income taxes.
Americans took those dollars and put them to work, driving this economy forward. The pace of economic growth in the third quarter of 2003 was the fastest in nearly 20 years; new home construction, the highest in almost 20 years; home ownership rates, the highest ever. Manufacturing activity is increasing. Inflation is low. Interest rates are low. Exports are growing. Productivity is high, and jobs are on the rise.
These numbers confirm that the American people are using their money far better than government would have and you were right to return it.
[SNIP]
We're requiring higher standards [in schools]. We are regularly testing every child on the fundamentals. We are reporting results to parents, and making sure they have better options when schools are not performing.
[SNIP]
We must continue to pursue an aggressive, pro-growth economic agenda. Congress has some unfinished business on the issue of taxes. The tax reductions you passed are set to expire. Unless you act (applause) unless you act unless you act, the unfair tax on marriage will go back up. Unless you act, millions of families will be charged $300 more in federal taxes for every child. Unless you act, small businesses will pay higher taxes. Unless you act, the death tax will eventually come back to life. Unless you act, Americans face a tax increase. What Congress has given, the Congress should not take away. For the sake of job growth, the tax cuts you passed should be permanent.
Our agenda for jobs and growth must help small business owners and employees with relief from needless federal regulation, and protect them from junk and frivolous lawsuits.
Consumers and businesses need reliable supplies of energy to make our economy run so I urge you to pass legislation to modernize our electricity system, promote conservation, and make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
My administration is promoting free and fair trade to open up new markets for America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers and farmers to create jobs for American workers. Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people.
[SNIP]
In two weeks, I will send you a budget that funds the war, protects the homeland, and meets important domestic needs, while limiting the growth in discretionary spending to less than 4 percent. This will require that Congress focus on priorities, cut wasteful spending, and be wise with the people's money. By doing so, we can cut the deficit in half over the next five years.
Tonight, I also ask you to reform our immigration laws so they reflect our values and benefit our economy.
[SNIP]
I oppose amnesty, because it would encourage further illegal immigration, and unfairly reward those who break our laws. My temporary worker program will preserve the citizenship path for those who respect the law, while bringing millions of hardworking men and women out from the shadows of American life.
[ED. NOTE: The precedent for guest worker programs goes back at least to the Eisenhower administration.]
[SNIP]
In January of 2006, seniors can get prescription drug coverage under Medicare. For a monthly premium of about $35, most seniors who do not have that coverage today can expect to see their drug bills cut roughly in half. Under this reform, senior citizens will be able to keep their Medicare just as it is, or they can choose a Medicare plan that fits them best just as you, as members of Congress, can choose an insurance plan that meets your needs. And starting this year, millions of Americans will be able to save money tax-free for their medical expenses in a health savings account.
[SNIP]
On the critical issue of health care, our goal is to ensure that Americans can choose and afford private health care coverage that best fits their individual needs.
[SNIP]
Small businesses should be able to band together and negotiate for lower insurance rates, so they can cover more workers with health insurance. I urge you to pass association health plans. I ask you to give lower-income Americans a refundable tax credit that would allow millions to buy their own basic health insurance.
[SNIP]
To protect the doctor-patient relationship, and keep good doctors doing good work, we must eliminate wasteful and frivolous medical lawsuits. And tonight I propose that individuals who buy catastrophic health care coverage, as part of our new health savings accounts, be allowed to deduct 100 percent of the premiums from their taxes.
A government-run health care system is the wrong prescription. By keeping costs under control, expanding access, and helping more Americans afford coverage, we will preserve the system of private medicine that makes America's health care the best in the world.
[SNIP]
One of the worst decisions our children can make is to gamble their lives and futures on drugs. Our government is helping parents confront this problem with aggressive education, treatment, and law enforcement. Drug use in high school has declined by 11 percent over the last two years. Four hundred thousand fewer young people are using illegal drugs than in the year 2001.
[SNIP]
A strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we should respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization. Congress has already taken a stand on this issue by passing the Defense of Marriage Act, signed in 1996 by President Clinton. That statute protects marriage under federal law as a union of a man and a woman, and declares that one state may not redefine marriage for other states.
Activist judges, however, have begun redefining marriage by court order, without regard for the will of the people and their elected representatives. On an issue of such great consequence, the people's voice must be heard. If judges insist on forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left to the people would be the constitutional process. Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage.
[SNIP]
It's also important to strengthen our communities by unleashing the compassion of America's religious institutions. Religious charities of every creed are doing some of the most vital work in our country mentoring children, feeding the hungry, taking the hand of the lonely. Yet government has often denied social service grants and contracts to these groups, just because they have a cross or a Star of David or a crescent on the wall. By executive order, I have opened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-based charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again.
[SNIP]
The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true.
[END EXCERPTS]
But, if Dubya's Education bill is a learning experience for the liberals, it sure is a costly lesson for the taxpayer - and, as you say, it is a circuitous path.
Addressing your last comment first, I'd bet I'm light years closer to the good doctor than you can count to,let alone aspire to. The former statement is laughable and indicates you are a typical thin skinned , narrowly focused zealot. Now, enjoy your misery with your fellow tinfoilers and keep a sharp eye out for those black helicopters, okay?
There's got to be more to it than courting the vote of the Rainbow Coalition, it just can't be that simple.
Having said that, its obvious that part of the Dems long term strategy has been to build a majority where none exists.
When they court the Hispanics, and the blacks, and the immigrants, those who need welfare and the gays, gather them together and tell them lies that the GOP hates them, then they build a consensus where there is none.
The Dems create an issue where there is none. Lumped all together these folks represent a bloc of maybe 50% of the country.
The GOP needs to put the light of truth on this liberal lie, call a spade a shovel and get these folks thinking straight.
conservatives, more than any other political group, genuinely want success for everyone.
I sure hope you're right.
As conservatives, we are unabashedly idealistic about how government should work we believe, during their tenures, regardless of administration or personal political persuasions, all politicians, judges and public bureaucrats should take seriously their oaths to support and defend the letter of the Constitution and to uphold the rule of law.
Instead, the practical side of politics demands we contend with these political machines with goals that seem to have little to do with the long term benefit of our country.
Its disgusting. But I guess, as that communist Walter Cronkite says, 'that's the way it is.'
As usual, this election is going to boil down to two candidates, one from each major party - no one else has a chance of winning - that's just the plain old unblemished truth.
The Dems candidate will be either Dean or Kerry. Dean is nuts. Kerry is a lying sack of bananas who will say, or do, anything that, at the margin, might gain him just one more misguided vote. He's told so many lies, he doesn't even understand the concept of truth - his brain and his vocal cords aren't even connected. Plus he's been drinking liberal-flavored kool-aid for so long, he actually believes he's a genetic mutation of King Midas squeezing the Golden Goose taxpayer and Robin Hood redistributing wealth to the huddled masses yearning to be free.
In '92, we allowed Perot, Buchanan and others to dilute our votes and we ended up with Clinton/Rodham/Gore for 8 years.
In '00 is was a damn tight race, and if it weren't for Nader, Algore would be "leading" us in the war on terror (NOT). Algore won the popular vote by 500,000 - thank God for the Electoral College.
Even so, if it weren't for a margin of just a few hundred votes in Florida, and the SCOTUS - we'd still be reaping the benefits of SoreLoserman.
Now, I know how upset some folks are (and I'm one of them) that Bush is running off the reservation with CFR, Amnesty, spending on liberal schemes, Globalization, FTAA, and the Patriot Act plus a few more. I'm outraged too.
But, I believe the country can survive, maybe even thrive - on 4 more years of Bush.
C'mon, candidly you've got to admit, Bush has, in fact, done a lot of things we conservatives can admire.
In its current fragile condition, I'm absolutely certain our country cannot endure either a Kerry or Dean administration, not even for a single day.
Or how about Edwards, would anybody like to have a known greedy trial lawyer running the country ?? Not me !!
Back when I was just a little kid, my grandmother was adamant that I take a spoonful of cod liver oil everyday. Anybody here ever had any of that stuff ?? It is AWFUL.
Like that horrible Kevin Costner movie - there was no way out, I either took it, or grandma beat the bejesus out of me. It all boiled down to one rather practical choice. Even though quite odious, I'd literally hold my nose and swallow as quickly as I could, just to end the misery. To this day, I'm convinced it didn't do me one damn bit of good - but, I don't think it did me any harm either.
We all appreciate how principled some of you are on this issue, and we admire your strong convictions, we really do. And, you certainly have every right to vote your conscience for a candidate who more closely adheres to your conservative ideology, a Libertarian, or a Constitutionalist. Some folks will even vote for Lyndon LaRouche.
No matter the strength of your conviction, nor the depth of your principles, nor your disgust with Bush and political chicanery in general - A THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE WILL NOT WIN.
And while you consider that reality, never forget those scum-sucking bottom-feeding liberal Democrats, they're ALL gonna be unified for one purpose, to kick Bush out of the White house.
So, you don't vote, or throw away your vote on someone who has no chance of winning - come 10 November and you're standing there in the ruin and ashes, just how will you feel about Kerry/Dean/Edwards/Clark becoming your next President ??
I know, I can hear it now - "serves Bush right, he should've listened to us,"
I got news for you, it won't hurt Dubya one bit to lose. He's filthy rich, he's just gonna go to Crawford, or Houston or Kennebunkport, or wherever Brahman Bush's go to hang out and enjoy his status as an elder statesmen, traveling around the world saying "I told you so." He'll still be invited to Bilderburg Group meetings and he'll be sitting next to Kissinger developing the Third Way (just kidding).
You and I, and the whole country, will be the ones who are the losers. Yup, Dubya ain't perfect; but, he ain't a maniac loony liberal like Dean; and, he ain't a Hanoi-Jane loving, French-looking UN-kissing lying communist like Kerry; and, he ain't no greedy bottom-feeding Breck-girl trial lawyer like Edwards; and, he ain't no disgraced lying incompetent general who was so bad that even the pervert-in-chief Xlinton was forced to fire him. Take your choice.
Now maybe, Hitlery will get drafted at the Dem Convention - and you think you might be able to tolerate her. Go for it.
So far, its still a free country - vote for whoever you will.
But as for me, based on what I know today - I'm gonna vote for Dubya. He isn't my ideal candidate, but he's a whole lot better than anybody else who is running that stands a snowball's chance of winning -- and I'm gonna do my best to see that he does.
And, I'm gonna work on replacing my RINO congresscritter while I'm at it.
Good luck.
And you call others ignorant. The constitution vests the POWER to declare war in Congress. It does NOT REQUIRE congress to use that power or in what manner it is to be exercised NOR does it provide a boilerplate declaration of war to be used. The Congress gave the president it's authorization via the Iraq war resolution to take all means necessary, including war, to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Before you call others "ignorant" you may want to stop proving your own ignorance on a multitude of subjects including this one..
He's so useless, he was one of the RINOs who voted against Newt as Speaker, that's what got me started.
He's so good at running down both sides of the fence simultaneously, in '02 not only was he unopposed by any other Republicans, the Democrats couldn't even find anybody who would run against him.
Frankly, I don't know what committees he sits on anymore, but he brings home lots of federal pork - he's loved almost universally in this district.
With the White house, Senate and House all in the hands of the GOP, he has shifted some to the right, but he still makes me sick.
LOL.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.